Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. out for season with torn ACL

The No. 12-ranked Indiana Hoosiers and starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. were two of the more positive stories of a college football season unlike any other, but Penix won't take another snap this year. 

As Adam Rittenberg reported for ESPN, Indiana coach Tom Allen confirmed on Monday that Penix suffered a torn ACL in the third quarter of Saturday's 27-11 victory over the Maryland Terrapins that improved the Hoosiers to 5-1. 

Rittenberg added it's the same ligament Penix tore in 2018 as a true freshman. The QB went down to a clavicle injury last November that forced him to undergo surgery and prematurely ended his campaign. 

Utah transfer Jack Tuttle completed all five of his passes for 31 yards versus Maryland and is expected to start for Indiana in this coming Saturday's game at the No. 16-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. 

Penix accumulated 1,645 passing yards and 14 touchdowns with four interceptions and a 56.4% completion rate (124-for-240) before his latest setback. He went for 491 passing yards and five touchdowns in the 42-35 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Nov. 21. 

Indiana sits behind only Ohio State (4-0) in the Big Ten East Division standings but could qualify for the league title game if the Buckeyes can't complete six total contests this fall due to lingering COVID-19 issues impacting the program. That situation would change, however, if the average number of games finished among all Big Ten teams falls below six as of the morning of Dec. 13. 

Indiana finishes the regular season with a home game against the Purdue Boilermakers (2-3) on Dec. 12.